Samsung’s Galaxy S10 to Support only Ethereum; Bitcoin (BTC) Ignored

The internet has been much hyped about the rumored Samsung’s flagship Smartphone, the Galaxy S10 which may offer in-built support for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) through a Blockchain Keystore application.

Samsung holds a larger global Smartphone market share than Apple. Thus the news proved to birth expectations of significant development in the adoption of cryptocurrency, making S10 first of many Samsung phones that support cryptocurrency in the future.

It was claimed that the S10 would come with an in-built crypto wallet supporting four different cryptocurrencies right off the bat, but those who have managed to get access to the final retail version of the device early have reported that the Blockchain Keystore app on the phone does not support Bitcoin. Ethereum, however, has shown to be supported right out of the box.

From the several unboxing videos circulating around the internet, it seems that the leading cryptocurrency by market cap and doubtlessly the most significant asset in the crypto space won’t be supported at launch. Bitcoin remains the most important coin in the market as far as day to day crypto transactions are concerned, and the omission of it is kind of a blow to the whole idea of Galaxy S10 promoting cryptocurrency adoption as Bitcoin is the face of it in the public eye.

It is unknown if ERC-20 tokens will be further supported through the Ethereum wallet address. Ethereum is prioritized by many crypto wallets as the same wallet address is used to receive Ether (ETH) besides a variety of ERC-20 tokens like the ox (ZRX), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Maker (MKR) and several more.

In the sea of similarly functioning smartphones, manufacturers are seeking a differentiating selling point, thus the growing trend of blockchain based phones equipped with built-in cryptocurrency wallet. HTC Blockchain Exodus and Sirin Lab’s FINNEY phone are the other two blockchain oriented phones supporting cryptocurrency that serve as competition to the Galaxy S10 as far as cryptocurrency is concerned. Pundi X is also preparing the XPhone for a Q2 2019 launch. It is anticipated that with the growing cryptocurrency adoption, more companies will follow suit including Apple, the big ship in the smartphone industry.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 officially drops today on March 8, 2019. Perhaps, Bitcoin might make its way onto the Blockchain Keystore app of the Galaxy S10 via updates, sooner rather than later. However, the lack of interest for cryptocurrency in the larger mass might result in Samsung not viewing the further development of the app as a priority.

Thomas Callahan has recently joined our team as a chief news editor. He has been writing on cryptocurrency and forex for last 7 years. He is a passionate trader and have keen eye on thriving crypto industry. In his free time, he loves to explore gadgets and learning more about blockchain technology.

You can also mail her/him at [email protected] to discuss anything related to her/his reports.

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